BT45-HON3 Bluetooth Phone, Music & AUX Input Kit for 2003-2014 Honda & Acura Models, Black Small

Update 8/13/20. I bgt this product in 2016 and the unit blacked out after 4 years. I pulled out the jack from the back of the unit and boom! Back in play! The dang thing is beast!! If this thing goes out permanently, I may have to get a new car. Lol. My Acura MDX is playing my music nicely as my phone conects seemllessly thru Bluetooth. 2016 review —> I ordered this product because I'm not ready to trade in my 2005 Acura MDX Touring yet. The truck has 140,000 miles and rides just as sweet as the day we purchased back in Dec 2004. Besides, we cannot afford an new vehicle at this point. My wife and I listen to pandora and Sirius through apps on our phone at home via portable Bluetooth speaker. The only problem we had which was pretty darn annoying was the fact that we could not connect through our factory stereo in the MDX. Bluetooth connection was not available for radio back in 2004. It would only connect for phone calls. We have a small portable speaker we would put on the dash board and connect via Bluetooth and it was not the same as listening to music via my Bose system. I ordered this product as I felt it was the only product which would meet our needs. Well! I was blown away and not disappointed! I watched a video on how to install the product. I ordered the item on Amazon on a Sunday nite. The product showed up at my door on Tuesday nite. I was so excited when I got home that I decided to install the darn thing outside my garage around 9pm. Lol. I used my iPhone over the visor as a flashlight while I began to remove the radio's double din harness. The removal was a bit tricky but simple enough. If your a handy person than you'll have no problem installing the product. I have an xm radio with no Nav so I had to install the BT-Hon behind my radio. There is no song tags as CD/AUX does not allow it. Only numerical tracks are shown. (Not a factor for me). After an hour and a half I was done! I ran the cable from the back of the radio and down thru the inside of the panel leading to the passenger side. Some people placed the box below the air conditioning controls above the radio. I decided not to as I would like to use the USB port behind the box and have it accessible (for charging only) so I decided to place the box under the corner end of the passenger side floor mat. I followed instructions to a tee. Running the microphone was the only nuisance as I had to run the thin cable from the inside driver side visor to the windshield frame down and across the front windshield tucked nicely so it goes unnoticed and down the passenger side and underneath. I never tested the item before I closed everything up. My confidence level was high due to some of the reviews I had previously read before ordering the unit. I paired the phone almost instantly. Just hit the CD/Aux button twice to get to the AUX position on your radio. Go to Bluetooth settings on your Celly and turn it on. Scroll down to the BT-Hon device and click on it. Your phone discovery will sound over your car stereo with "Connected." And boom! Your in! I raised the volume on my Celly so it will allow me to get maximum loudness from my car stereo. I click on the pandora app on my phone and began playing my music. I was blown away! WOW! I finally got my music life back in the Acura. Makes long trips bearable. (Regular radio tends to suk and has mediocre sound) I had discontinued my xm radio service years ago as it got to be so expensive. I have the app thru the family. I played it thru the radio and it was truly amazing. I played one of my playlists from my ITunes and was blown away once again. I do have great music!! Lol. I took the car on the highway for a final spin while I turned Aerosmith and enjoyed the clear sound of my Bose sound system. It's amazing how this small unit has transported my MDX radio into the current state of music listening in 2016. My MDX radio plays the same apps that my daughters 2014 Mazda 3 does. The next morning I had my wife pair her phone which took all of 1 minute. She played her pandora app and was also blown away. I called her on her cell phone, the ring was soft and the voice prompt switched from music to announcing the phone number coming in. I instructed her to hit the volume up tab on the steering wheel and the phone call was connected. She spoke and I heard her clearly on my phone. I spoke and voice was not overbearing in the car. It was very clear. I really can't say anything bad about this product. It is literally game changing. If you feel you cannot install yourself than spend the $65 at bestbuy and have them install it. Last two words: AWESOME product!!!!! UPDATE 11.25.2016: Still amazing! No issues at all. My wife actually watches music videos on her i-phone through her YouTube channel when we're on long trips and the sound is incredible. My Bose system still takes music to the next level. Please keep in mind the music suffers very slightly as its coming from an outside source but not enough to really complain. I just have to say... It is, what it is and we love it! I have recommended to friends and family and they are blown away by the product. Cheers and good luck!

Music Audio Quality: The music sound quality is near perfect, if not 100% perfect CD/iPod quality. It recognizes my device when I get in the car within 5-10 seconds without me having to do anything. Be careful not to leave your volume up too loud when you get out of the car, as when you get back in the car, the female voice that says "Connected" might leave your ear ringing for a second =) Phone Call Audio Quality: Exactly what you would expect for a car Bluetooth device. No better and no worse than anything I've experienced in any other vehicle that is Bluetooth compatible. I have my mic mounted near my rearview mirror, and I've never had any issues with anyone not being able to hear me, whether stuck in traffic or driving down the highway (windows up, of course... it's not THAT good). It is very nice how it integrates perfectly with my steering wheel controls. A simple press of the up fuction button on the steering wheel answers the call, down hangs up. If you are listening to radio, it will switch over to the AUX channel that your Bluetooth connection operates through so that the call can take place through the vehicle speakers. Note that when you hang up, it will stay in the AUX setting, so you will have to switch back to the radio if that's what you were on. Of course, if you were just listening to music through your phone via Bluetooth, which is already on the AUX, your phone will resume play of the music from your phone (at least my iPhone does). Note on iPhone Voice to Text: Speaking of iPhone, another thing to be aware of is when you are hooked up to Bluetooth, if you press the voice-to-text button, you have to wait 2-3 seconds to start speaking, as it is sending the signal through the Bluetooth connection and, thus, it is recording your voice-to-text through the Bluetooth microphone installed on the car. So, you don't need to hold your phone up to talk into it directly. That said, you do need to project as you normally would on a phone call so that your voice-to-text function can pick up on each word. You may even need to speak up a little more than you are used to. I use voice-to-text all the time, and while it does take a few weeks to get used to, I have no problems with it, and I'm picky about voice-to-text. Install: This works awesome in my 2006 Honda Ridgeline. The install was pretty simple. With that said, there are two ways you can install this in the Ridgeline. Option 1 is more complicated, but only necessary if you plan to keep your XM radio channel functional, as XM and AUX/Bluetooth need to share the same channel. Option 2 is much simpler, and perfect if, like me, you do not need XM radio functionality. I simply Googled how to pull the dash off (easy), pulled the head unit so it was loose in the dash and I could access the back (easy), pulled out the glove box so I could tuck the BT45-HON3 box back there (easy), and then clipped the microphone to my map light above the rearview mirror and ran the microphone cable under the ledge of the headliner and then behind the trim running up the passenger column (moderately simple). I was initially considering ordering this from Crutchfield thinking I needed to pay more for the vehicle-specific install instructions, but I'm glad I didn't. Resources abounded online, at least for my simpler hookup, and I know there are instructions on the Ridgeline forum for those doing the more complicated hookup. Conclusion: This is a great solution for the money for anyone who wants to be able to listen to music from their phone without having to mess with CDs, USB connections, or wires. 3 months in and I haven't looked back since I installed it. Pandora, Spotify, and Apple Music all play into my vehicle steering wheel controls seamlessly. The sound quality is excellent, and it is nice being able to take hands-free calls while driving. I was considering doing a complete overhaul of my audio system initially and I am so glad I didn't. I know the fact that the Ridgeline already has a decent sounding sound system plays into this, but if you don't want the hassle of having to install a new head unit and all that comes with it, you will be extremely happy with this regardless of your vehicle.

This is an amazing product. I was skeptical at first seeing as I have used a cassette adapter ever since getting my 06 Acura TL. I recently tried to go with an FM Transmitter to play my music because the wires of an adapter were getting really annoying, but I ended up wasting my money because the FM Transmitter is way worse in quality than even a cassette adapter. I then found this little module while doing some research, and man I must say i am NOT disappointed. What everyone says is completely true. Install was extremely easy and the sound is crystal clear.. basically CD quality and my stock audio system sounds like it has thumping bass now (it comes with a weak stock 8" sub). Simply in awe how nice this product is. Install for an 06 Acura TL: This module connects to stock XM Tuner located on the rear right panel inside the trunk under the trunk liner. Simply remove 3 plugs and pull the liner out, loosen (do NOT remove) the 3 10mm bolts and unlatch the tuner to disconnect the cable on the tuner. Then remove the piggyback wire that came with the BT45 and connect the tuner plug to the BT45 (female plug) and the BT45 plug (male plug) into the tuner. Then connect the end to the module and set the dipswitch to 1 down, 2 up, 3 down, 4 up (on, off, on off), go into the car turn onto acc on and turn your bluetooth on to check if it works. There should be a prompt that says "connected" and the song you play should have the song title etc showing on the screen and music should be playing right after. I then used double sided 3m tape to stick it onto the wall beneath the trunk liner. Its that simple. 15min install tops and I am by no means an audio expert. Pros: -Crystal clear CD quality sound and bass in car is amplified from this module -Ease of installation was ridiculously easy -No more messy wires at or around the radio inside the car -Connects to bluetooth relatively quick, around 5-10sec for me -You can use the steering wheel controls to skip or go back on tracks! (btw radio steering controls are indeed still functional after install) Cons: -Not too fond of the "connected" voice every time you turn on bluetooth -If installing via xm tuner, running wires to the front of the car for the mic, aux cord, etc could be a hassle, though I skipped this step as my car already has a hands free link, which i rarely use anyways. -Hmm... I cut my hand during the install because the tuner is squeezed in a tight space. -(cant think of any other cons, this product is too good!) Overall, I am extremely pleased with this purchase and regret not getting it sooner. I was going to install my 12" Alpine Type R sub to my car soonish, but after installing this module into my car, I feel as if it isnt even necessary. This little thing turned my stock radio into a monster and I am not even joking when I say that. The music is extremely clear, the volume turned up is not even a bit distorted, and it is so convenient to just flip bluetooth on to play music now. Best money I've spent in a while. Get it, you wont be disappointed!

I love that this gives an almost factory level integration with the car- no matter what mode the stereo is in (even off!), when a call comes in or is initiated, it will switch over and play over the speakers automatically. When installed using the XM port, it will even use the XM's ability to send text to the display, telling you that you are now in Bluetooth mode, which phone is connected, caller ID and track information, etc. It feels as if the car came this way from the factory! Except for two annoying caveats: 1) THERE IS NO WAY TO INITIATE A CALL WITHOUT YOUR PHONE. Sure, you can use the stereo controls to answer, hang up, and change tracks if listening to music, but there's no button to wake up the Google Assistant/Siri/etc and speak commands like on a factory installed Bluetooth unit. This is the most annoying for me because I really want to be able to que up a song or place a call without taking my phone out of my pocket. I tried to find a way around this by using the always listening "Ok Google" function of my phone, but it eats up my battery to have it always listening for the command. There's also the possibility of using an additional device, like the iSimple ISBC01 Blueclik, which acts like a remote control that connects to the phone using the BT keyboard profile, so you can connect to it and the BT45-HON3 at the same time without conflict. The ISBC01 offers a mic button which SHOULD in theory wake up your phone and launch the voice assistant (it simulates a long-press home button), but while I've heard people say it works for Siri on an iPhone, all it did was wake up the screen on my Android phone. It didn't actually activate the voice command assistant. I found I could install a button remapper app and make it work, but it only seems to work when the device is already on. Additionally, the iSimple device goes to sleep after 10 min of inactivity. So, when first getting into the car, I have to press the mic button on the iSimple to wake it out of sleep and connect to the phone, press it again to wake up the phone, then a third time to actually open Google Assistant. This is obviously not ideal and makes me feel like I could have taken my phone out of my pocket and done all this manually by then. It really makes me wish there was a way to to initiate voice commands from the BT45-HON3 directly, either via a stereo button or with a hardwire remote. Their newer BT45-AUX device actually ships with a battery powered remote, but I'm told it is not compatible with the HON3 version (it is a newer product and didn't exist when the HON3 was made). This makes me hopeful for a future version of this unit, but saddens me that it does not currently offer the features I'm looking for. 2) If using in XM mode, you have to use the tuner up/down function to change tracks and answer calls. The steering wheel controls in my 2010 Odyssey don't have channel up down, but rather radio preset up down (because the understanding is that in normal XM operation, you don't want to go up and down incrementally through 100+ channels, but rather to the next preset at a time). Jumping to the next preset isn't a function the BT45 recognizes, so you need to use the buttons on the stereo to incrementally go up/down a station to interact with the Bluetooth control. On my Odyssey, this is a tuner knob. It seems kind of silly to need to twist the knob right to answer the call or left to reject it when there are perfectly good controls available to my thumb on the steering wheel, but this is a limitation of how the XM buttons are laid out on my car. If using CDC mode instead of XM (which can be set using the dip switches), the up/down on the steering wheel buttons would work since in CD mode they would advance next track / prev track (which is what the BT45 unit is looking for). However, in CDC mode, you lose out on the text display. I like the text display for many reasons- caller ID is nice, as is the artist/title of songs when streaming with Spotify, but most importantly, since I share the car with my wife, it is nice when it displays which phone is currently connected. In our other car, we have bluetooth with no display. When we drive together, sometimes we don't know whos phone is connected and sometimes have an awkward moment pulling away from the driveway when we realize the OTHER person's phone is connected. Having a text display makes it easier to know what is really going on, so I decided I'll just compromise the steering wheel controls and use the tuner knob in return for the text. Its just unfortunate that I have to choose between the two. Otherwise, the unit is danged near perfect. Connects quickly and sounds really good. A couple of notes regarding installation: The instructions want you to install it in the rear where the XM radio is. On a car as long as the Odyssey, I don't want to do that. Its too far from the driver so the BT transmission will have more interference, not to mention how annoying it would be to wire up the mic so far. I chose to unplug the XM radio from behind the head unit because A) I only have a 3 month trial and don't intend to pay for it, and B) Whatever stations there are, I have access to much much more and arguably better content with my phone and streaming internet station for free (unlimited data plan). Once I have Bluetooth music streaming, I additionally have the benefit of notifications and GPS commands coming in over the radio, so for all intents and purposes, XM is useless in this age of affordable mobile data. And hey, if you really like XM that much, you can always use the XM app with your subscription and do it over Bluetooth. Then you still get notification sounds and GPS commands over the music. Either way, I recommend unplugging XM and using the included harness to plug it in behind the stereo. Then you can easily fish mic wire behind your dashboard trim, up the A-piller, and over the rear view mirror, where they recommend putting it. I was able to use the included clip to secure it to the headliner, and tuck the wire behind the trimming using a plastic pry tool. Easy peasy and looks nice. One more thing I did is I decided to plug in a USB cable to the charging port on the unit and drilled a hole in the storage cubby under the climate controls to fish it into. Now, I can open the cubby door and plug in my phone to charge if needed, and not have to see a single wire hanging anywhere in the car. That's nice. :)

I looked high and low for a phone/streaming music connectivity option for my 2006 Ridgeline. After trying 2 other failures, I think I've found the one that fits! First I tried the Aux input from a cheaper option (about $25) but omg the interference and engine noise was horrible! It was unbearable to listen to. So then I tried replacing the head unit altogether.. and lost my subwoofer and sound quality in the process.. The 2006 (and I think most of the gen 1 ridgelines with the factory subwoofer) actually have a 5-channel head unit, 4 door speakers plus and extra channel and amp built into to the head unit for the subwoofer. The sound without it is hilariously bad. If you want to replace your head unit, be prepared to also buy and wire up a subwoofer amp because if you don't your sound will be awful! Alas, I was beginning to think I wasn't going to find an option that worked for me.. but I decided to give this Bluetooth module a try.. and boy am I glad I did!! It's easy to wire up and after tweaking the EQ settings a bit on the factory head unit I got it dialed in to near CD quality sound over Bluetooth streaming. The sound is so good I actually don't even use my FM tuner anymore at all, I stream my local radio via apps instead because it sounds that good!! Haven't actually tried the hands-free calling yet but I'm sure it'll be fine, my big desire was getting my phone tunes to work and they work great!! Great bonus feature: the Bluetooth feeds through the name/band of the music (pretends to be XM) and also the steering wheel next/back works great too!! It's expensive but just spend the money and get this.. unless you feel like rewiring your sound system this is by far the best option! Thanks for fixing the sound in my truck!!!

The 2006 MDX’s factory Bluetooth only supported phone calls, and not very well at that. Making matters worse, there’s no auxiliary input, so the only way to listen to music or podcasts is with a (crummy) FM transmitter. I got this car recently and it only took about 18 seconds to realize that wasn’t going to cut it. Enter the BT45-HON3. My MDX has XM, which was great back in 2006, but with everything on my phone now, there’s just no need to pay for yet another streaming service. As it turns out, having XM is a disadvantage here. Why? I’ll get to that. You last-page-of-the-book-first-readers can check out my pictures. Since you have to run the microphone wire to the header above the diver’s seat, not to mention optional USB extension and audio cables, the ideal place to install this module is right behind the factory head unit. If you don’t have the XM tuner, then that’s it - you’re done. But if you do have the tuner, you hear the XM at the same time as the BT45 - uhm… no. That’s why we XM folks are supposed to install the BT45 in the back, between the XM receiver and the wiring harness. At first I tried installing the BT45 up front and just not plugging in the front end of that harness, but then the Nav/info touchscreen turned into a non-touch screen. Yeah, the touch sensor runs through that cable too. Instead of moving the BT45 to the back and fishing the cables through the entire car, I just unplugged the XM tuner at the back and put the BT45 in the dash where it belongs. Other than the (enormous) hassle of taking out the rear seat and half of the interior panels in the cargo area as you can see in my second photo (thanks a lot, Honda) this worked perfectly. After reassembly the car looks and acts like it came from the factory that way. Audio quality is excellent, the steering wheel buttons control my phone and the XM display shows what’s playing. Siri even works exactly as it would in a new car - just talk to her and she will (try her best to) do your bidding. The Bluetooth connects in seconds and I’ve had no trouble with it dropping off or with interference, which is often a problem with aftermarket sound systems. Bonus: I never have to hear the XM nag me to subscribe and try to tempt me with all the listening pleasures 2004 had to offer. The mic wire is tucked into the weather stripping so it’s protected and out of sight. I also ran a short USB cable from the BT45, leaving it hanging down, just a bit, in the passenger footwell. Sure, it’s just for charging, but you can always use another power port, right? And if your phone still has an audio jack you can run a 1/8” cable next to it. I didn’t, mainly because it gives me a good excuse, er, I mean reason to tell passengers that the only phone we can listen to is mine because it’s the one paired to the car. No more awful stuff my uncle always wants to listen to from his iPhone 6s? Yes, please! Bottom line is this unit does exactly what it’s supposed to and it’ll make your older car feel like it’s brand new. If only it worked on the scratches and scrapes in the paint job.

I installed the BT45-HON3 in a 2006 Odyssey touring (NAV, RES, etc). I chose to install it next to the radio, not at the XM tuner. We use XM, and didn't want to lose the XM2 button assignments. Plus, we really don't care too much about text display. My radio doesn't have a CD/AUX button as described in the manual, but does have a DVD/AUX button. With all DIP switches down (in the ON position), the BT45 takes over the AUX setting. Everything else on the radio/RES continues to work as before. Pairing with the BT45 worked easily, and once paired, devices connect quickly. Playback sound seems excellent -- at least as good as XM or a CD. Hands-free calls work well, although the caller sounds like they're in a bathtub. Still, I can understand the caller, and they can understand me clearly. I mounted the mic at the top of the windshield, just to the left of center. When using the bluetooth, the display reads CD1 - D4 - Txx, where the last is the track number in your playlist. The CH +/- keys on my steering wheel work to navigate tracks. When the phone rings, pressing CH+ answers, and CH- hangs up. The unit has a (loud) voice that so far as I can tell only does two things -- scream "connected" when you pair, and read out the phone # when a call comes in. You can enable/disable the voice with the Seek +/- buttons on the radio. Installation was pretty easy; running the mic cord was the hardest part, as it was hard to fish the cable in some spots. Still, from start to finish it was probably an hour's work. There are plenty of videos on youtube that show you how to proceed. I did have to run the cable that goes to the back of the radio under and around to the right (there's empty space there), as there didn't seem to be enough room anywhere else for this fairly thick cable to come through. I left the cable, the BT45, and the mic cord resting on top of the radio behind the climate controls, where it all fit nicely. One bit of advice -- make sure you have your anti-theft codes before you start, just in case. While I can't compare this to any of the other solutions on the market (e.g., the GROM unit), I can say the BT45 seems to work about as well as I can imagine any of them doing.

I bought this to add Bluetooth media (A2DP) capabilities to a 2006 Acura TL w/Nav. The vehicle already has Bluetooth, but only for handsfree phone calls, so this review focuses solely on the media capabilities of the device. For the TL, this just uses the Y-adapter in the harness to connect to the XM radio, and the existing connector going to the radio. The XM radio is in the trunk (passenger rear), so that is where the USASPEC device goes as well. The installation was pretty painless; the hardest part is removing the trunk liner from the back passenger rear of the vehicle, to get access to the XM radio module. The instructions state that you do not need to remove the actual XM module, but given the installation orientation in the TL, there was no way to (easily) pull the harness connector from it while it was still installed. Luckily, removing the XM module is very easy, and it also went back easily enough. Since I was not interested in the phone handsfree capability, I did not connect the microphone, so that I could instead use the vehicle's built-in Bluetooth for handsfree phone calls, and the USASPEC for media playback. If you use an iPhone, you may not have this luxury, I don't know - on Android, you can set your bluetooth connections to use media and phone capabilities independently. Once the device is plugged into the XM module, the integration is very nice - it resides on XM1 (XM2 is still functional). The XM1 audio screen on the Navi unit shows song information - Artist, Album, and Title (although they populate the XM fields, so they are named slightly different). The steering wheel controls work well with it too, with CH+/- skipping to the next / previous song, respectively. This is about as close to an OEM integration experience as I could expect for an aftermarket Bluetooth module in this vehicle. I was very pleased with the sound quality - I noticed no difference in quality versus using Bluetooth media on more recent vehicles. Rating the sound quality, I would say it is excellent, and far exceeds what I would get from going the FM transmitter or tape adapter route. That, plus the song metadata information display and steering wheel controls, makes this easily worth the extra money over those two options. Plus, no wires in the cabin! Pairing my phone was easy, and I have 2 different phones currently paired to the vehicle. My only complaint so far, is that my phone will not automatically connect to the USASPEC device - once I start the car, I need to go and manually select it on my phone. Perhaps I am not waiting long enough, and it may be the fault of my phone rather than the USASPEC (although my phone connects automatically to my other vehicles that have Bluetooth built in from the factory).